It’s amazing what kind of stuff pops up on the internet.

Tonight, this video popped up on my Facebook newsfeed http://youtu.be/uDawlrIeaVM – I can’t repost the video here because the option has been disabled. But here’s a picture:

lance cleans

It’s a video of the man himself Lance Armstrong doing several exercises in the gym. Now you would expect an athlete with Lance’s accomplishments to be quite proficient in the gym; however, this is not the case. It’s sloppy and not as effective as it could be.

For the lay person reading/watching, this technique is horrendous and it’s not surprising he didn’t get hurt. Would be interesting to see what WOULD happen if Lance had been coached by a strength and conditioning coach that knew what he/she was doing.

It doesn’t end there.

The fastest man alive doesn’t do cleans correctly either.

Usain also had some back trouble last season – wonder if it was caused by poor exercise technique in the gym?

It’s unfortunate these athletes didn’t have good coaching when they were learning these lifts. Maybe they didn’t have any coaching at all (but I doubt that). Would also be interesting to see how fast Usain would have ran if he was 110% effective in the gym.

No disrespect toward these two gentlemen, just wanted to take this opportunity to use these videos as an educational tool for you.

If you want to learn how to do the clean correctly, check out my 1st article on T-Nation: A Surefire Way to Learn the Clean.

Here’s a short video of me doing the same exercise. I’m still working on my technique, but you can see a huge difference from how Lance and Usain are performing the same exercise.

Lance or Usain, if you’re reading this, LET ME HELP YOU!

Thanks for reading,

-JK

I started training at JKC in 2016 because I’ve always had upper back issues that became aggravated through work. I sought out other training and physio, but experienced little to no results. A client of mine happened to be coming to JKC for a similar issue and highly recommended it. I have had great success and haven’t looked back! I always feel like I’m getting programs tailored to my needs and I’m never bored. I’m 30 weeks pregnant now with my second child and have been able to workout through both pregnancies here at JKC. Even on my least mobile days, I felt safe to workout because my programs were specifically modified for my needs.

I had been struggling with work-life balance resulting in not exercising or playing hockey as much as I had been doing in the past. In addition to being out of shape, I was starting to experience some back/shoulder issues and realized I needed to make some changes. Around this time, a friend (who was also a client) recommended JKC and that’s when I started!

You really feel part of a community where everyone is welcoming and supportive. You get a program that is designed specifically to achieve your goals, with the ongoing coaching, progress tracking and support required to achieve them. The JKC team are very knowledgeable about fitness and conditioning, and very engaging with everyone to answer questions or discuss anything and everything training related. I also like the flexible scheduling and gym times that work for my schedule (I like early mornings and evenings).

lisa jumping onto a box

JKC was recommended to me by a fellow runner. I was experiencing injuries, and feeling weak and fragile. When I started with JKC, Jon asked me about my goals and my focus. I wanted to concentrate specifically on running, and preventing injury. Jon developed a program for me that has enabled me to focus on my form and strength and has been flexible enough to enable me to train for many different races. I have been training with JKC for six years, and during that time I have enjoyed Jon and Thomas’s expertise in a very warm and supportive atmosphere.

I’m 34 and started at JKC in 2015. My wife joined while I was working away in 2015 and started making amazing progress while also completing exercises I’d never perform on my own. I felt I was missing out so I signed up. JKC helps in establishing goals while also having clear direction of what to do, and how, in each session. They also measure your progress which is another means of motivation! At other gyms I wouldn’t have a clear plan and would just use whatever equipment was free, it was hard to see any results. Between setting some personal bests and making good friends its hard to identify a favorite memory.  One that does come to mind was when I hit my target goal/PB in both bench and squats in the same session, big day.

I’ve always struggled with both my weight and anxiety throughout my life. As a writer you live a pretty sedentary lifestyle filled with both realistic and unrealistic deadlines, so I needed something to get me off my butt and to get me moving. JK has been a godsend during this past year and a half in particular. The pandemic has been tough, but workouts with both Thomas and Jon have really helped reduce the stress and strain of a global pandemic, and added an anchor of normalcy back into my life — which has been worth its weight in gold.

JKC has created an incredibly inclusive environment that’s filled with all kinds of supportive folks from all kinds of different backgrounds. For folks like myself, being surrounded by people with such athletic ability can be intimidating in most gyms. It can actually be a deterrent, and it sometimes has been for me. But, at JKC it’s far from that — it’s inspirational. Everyone supports one another. Which is something that’s not easily found in this day and age, inside of a gym or out. Not to sound like a total cheeseball here, but it really feels like a family.

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